Against favouritism

[MW]

From Stephen Charnock, Works, 1:196:

Many entertain a doctrine for the person's sake, rather than a person for the doctrine's sake, and believe a thing because it comes from a man they esteem, as if his lips were more canonical than Scripture.

The apostle implies in the commendation he gives the Thessalonians, 1 Thess. 2:13, that some receive the word for human interest, not "as it is in truth the word and will of God," to command and govern their consciences by its sovereign authority; or else they "have the truth of God" (as St James speaks of the faith of Christ) "with respect of persons," James 2:1, and receive it not for the sake of the fountain, but of the channel; so that many times the same truth delivered by another is disregarded, which when dropping from the fancy and mouth of a man's own idol, is cried up as an oracle. This is to make not God, but man, the rule; for though we entertain that which materially is the truth of God, yet not formally as his truth, but as conveyed by one we affect; and that we receive a truth and not an error, we owe the obligation to the honesty of the instrument, and not to the strength and clearness of our own judgment. Wrong considerations may give admittance to an unclean as well as a clean beast into the ark of the soul; that which is contrary to the mind of God may be entertained as well as that which is agreeable. It is all one to such, that have no respect to God, what they have; as it is all one to a sponge to suck up the foulest water or the sweetest wine, when either is applied to it.

 

[Tirian]

Thank you for sharing the quote - what a blessing it was to me right now.

"Whatsoever any man aims at in worship above the glory of God, that he forms as an idol to himself instead of God, and sets up a golden image, God counts not this as a worship."
Stephen Charnock (Discourses Upon the Existence and Attributes of God)

 

[Free Christian]

Spot on For me its not who is telling me something but what they are telling me. I look up, find out, search for and try everything I am told by anyone.
I have seen some things written by some truly good men that I have disregarded. Not that I disregarded the person and said "oh ohh, this guys not good" but just the particular statement. We can all make mistakes. I tend to steer clear of "perhaps, maybe, this could have been the case" too as a safeguard for if it can not be fully proven it could be wrong as much as it could be right. There are many men that are seen as oracles and set up as such.